Letters
by Promise.Me.Promise
Summary: Edward now an old man reviews all the letters he had gotten from all his friends before he crossed over the gate. very cute with flashbacks! Edwin, Rated T for swearing. Please Read and Review!
1. Winry's 1st letter

Hi, this is my second story about Full Metal Alchemist haha. I hope you enjoy it! Please review if you want to! Thanks!

By the way I do not own Full Metal Alchemist unfortunately. L Wish I did!

The man sat down in his all to familiar desk chair groaning at the difficult task. This man had once been very young obnoxious kid, full of life. Yet now he was an old man only having his memories to make him smile again. That was the worst part about getting old, having millions of memories haunting him.

The window above his mahogany desk let in the orange pink sunset, making the old man's wrinkly face involuntarily smile. It was that time of the day again. Dusk was the most romantic time of the day, or in this man's case the best time to study his favorite thing. Alchemy.

Even though he was no able to use alchemy in this world, he still liked learning about it. Alchemy, science, mechanical arms all reminded him of his home. The home that he missed with all his heart. The dusk also reminded him of his home. That was one of the few things that reminded him of his true life, across the gate.

Thinking about his home made him always think about her. That girl that he left all alone so many years ago. He was sure that she had moved on like he had tried to, but still his memories always ended with her. That loud cute blonde girl. His best friend. His automail mechanic. She was once his whole world.

He reached out with his mechanical arm to pull open the bottom drawer of his desk. Here, where no one would look, was where he had hidden everything about his past. The only other person who knew about what this drawer contained was his dear younger brother, who also contribute to all the objects. The man smiled slowly as he saw the clothes that they had been wearing when they crossed over.

He gently lifted them up, placing them on the desk in front of him. He ran his hand down the white shirt that he had wore that still held the blood stain from an injury he had gotten. These aren't what he was after though. He pulled out the familiar red long coat that he had worn for so many years. That's when he saw it. That plain brown box sitting at the bottom of the drawer.

He smiled to himself as he pulled out the box, gently placing it on the desk. The worn out box had aged quite a lot since he had bought it nearly 60 years ago. He couldn't bare to part with it, no matter if the box was ripped and looking like it was ready to break at any minute. That box was almost as important as his most treasured items inside of it. He lifted off the cover, brushing off the dust that had accumulated since the last time that he had looked through the box. Inside all neatly organized where a bunch of random things. A silver gleaming pocket watch, holding the memories of when he was a teenager. An old yellowing picture of three young blonde children all smiling joyfully at the camera. And many more important seemingly useless objects. In the center of the pile of things were letters.

Letters that had touched his heart from all the most important people in his life. People who only now lived inside of his memory. Years and years of letters had grown in a huge pile tied together with an old faded white string. He untied the letters, holding on to the string as memories started to pass through his old yet vibrant mind.

He fingered the first letter that had been the first letter he had ever received. It brought back so many memories. He had received this letter when he was 12 years old, right before he became a state alchemist. He smiled at the big dark words that his best friend had wrote before her writing became more elegant and slanted.

He smiled as he began to read the letter that he had memorized from beginning to end.

Dear Edward,

How are you? Are you doing well? How is your automail? Is Al doing okay? You haven't grown any more have you? Because we would have to replace your automail then. Wait what am I saying? Of course you haven't grown! When are you coming home? Granny and I are worried about you two. You shouldn't be off on your own. You should be here with us. I'm saying this as your best friend. But I know you wont listen to anything that I tell you right? You'll do what ever you want to. Just remember that you always have Granny, Den, and me. Can I come visit you two soon? I hear that Central has very good automail shops and I want to go see the new models!

Write back Ed!

Winry Rockbell

He frowned at having his height discussed in the letter. Oh how he wanted to yell that he wasn't short anymore. He had grown much taller than anyone would have guessed, not that any one of his old friends knew that. None of them knew anything about them after they crossed the gate. That was one of the sacrifices that he had given up.

"I'm not short," He muttered before picking up the next letter.


	2. Maes's Letter

**Chapter 2! Yay! I'm thinking that there will be a letter from every single one of the Full Metal Alchemist characters but I'm not sure yet. Of course the most letters are from Winry! Please enjoy and review if you have time.**

Ed sat in silence looking mournfully at the next letter. This letter had arrived shortly after Winry's first letter. It bought up a depressing aura at the loss of the letter's author. Still Ed couldn't push it aside. He needed to be reminded of the happy carefree guy everyone in a while.

_Yo Ed!_

_Whats up kid? How you doin'? It seems Roy keeps sending you on far away missions, so I'm unable to show you the new pictures of Elysia that I took! Don't worry I placed a couple in this letter for you! Isn't she adorable? Doesn't she look exactly like her beautiful mom? Guess what! She said her first word that other day, she's so cute! Guess what it was Ed! It was "dada"! I was so proud of her! Of course she hasn't said it since then, but she will again I know it! I've been meaning to ask if you have made any progress on the you-know-what stone? There seems to be a lot of chatter about it between the higher ups for some reason. That's odd since most of them don't believe it exists. The Fuhrer seems to be encouraging this talk for some reason. I don't know if he believes in it or not. I'll try to find out some more and contact you about it as soon as possible. By the way be careful out there! The both of you! Some weird villager might mistake you for being a little kid (even though technically compared to the rest of the military you are) so don't let them drag you back to school! When you have time you should come visit us! Elysia is getting bigger everyday! I'm afraid of what will happen when she gets too old and wont let me hug her anymore! What a horrible thought! I hope that never happens!_

_See you soon,_

_Maes Hughes_

Poor Hughes. He never got to see his daughter grow up like most fathers did. Ed frowned at the letter, hating the feeling of sadness that curled itself into his cold stone heart when ever thinking about carefree Maes. Ed missed Hughes, he made the military a place like home whenever he was there chattering happily about his wonderful family.

Ed still had no idea why someone like Hughes would never join the military, and he never would until he died. That would be the first question he would ask Hughes when he got to see him again. Hughes didn't deserve to die that horrible death, it should have been someone else.

"No," Ed shook his head sending his blonde and white hair flying around him. "I cant think like that. That's not a good thought, to wish death upon someone else. Hughes wouldn't want anyone to think like that."

Ed thought about how he wasn't at the funeral, leaving poor Gracia and Elysia alone. Of course he went to go apologize after finding out, but that still didn't cut not being at a friend's funeral. Hughes had been his friend, in some crazy odd sort of way. Just like how all the other friendly military personal were his friends also. Yet Ed left them like Hughes left them. Just in different senses.

Hughes hadn't decided if he should leave or not. His life was ripped out of him. Ed on the other hand decided to leave them all. That was the most horrible part of it. He knew that if Hughes was still alive he would be saying how it wasn't right to leave his friends and family. Hughes would have believed that Ed should have stayed with his family when he could not. That was the kind of person that Hughes was.

Ed looked through the box again and found the pictures that had been mentioned in the letter. There were three aging pictures that made Ed smile despite his melancholy mood at thinking about Hughes. The pictures all contained a brightly smiling tiny girl with her short dark blonde hair pulled into little pigtails. Ed smiled at the memory of Elysia being born, that had been a exciting frightening day for him, but he would never forget it.

Nor would he forget seeing Elysia's small little body as she was being held safety in Gracia's arms. Elysia was an innocent soul who was born in this world loved completely by her mother and father. She may have lost her father at a young age, but Hughes gave her enough love that would probably last even when she reached an old age like Edward. Ed wished that he could see the little girl who was so much like a younger sister to him, just one more time to make sure she was happy. In Ed's heart he knew that Elysia was most likely exactly like her dad which meant that no matter what happen she would try to approach things with a smile on her face.

Even to this day Ed marveled at the fact that woman were able to give birth. When his wife had given birth to their first child, he had gotten a flash back to the cold winter's night when Elysia was born. Ed had looked over to his brother Al and saw that Al had that same faraway look that adorned his face as well. No matter what they did in this world it somehow always made them think of their home and their friends.

_"There cant be this many similarities between the worlds," Al spoke one day after swearing that he saw the face of Scar on the street one evening. "Can there brother?"_

_"I don't know," Ed shrugged. "It doesn't make sense if there is so many similarities, because then these worlds would be one not separate."_

_"It was him brother. I swear. He even had that scar on his face," Al shook his head, his dark blonde short hair moving slightly. "It always makes me still think we are in Amestris. Doesn't it to you brother?"_

_"Some what," Ed mutter sipping some coffee as they watch more people pass the window of the small warm coffee shop. "This isn't Amestris, Al. These people arent people from there who can control alchemy."_

_Al had remained silent for a few moments before he pointed out the window. "Look! Brother that boy! He looks like he could be the son of Mustang and Miss Riza!"_

_Despite everything single cell in his body crying out that there couldn't be a person, Ed had turned to look at that kid. Al had been right. The kid had dark shaggy black hair that got in the way of his bright hazel eyes. The kid had a smirk on his face as he played with his friends. Mustang's kid would look exactly like that kid across the street._

_Ed snorted. "Like Mustang and Hawkeye would ever have a child."_

_"That's not the point brother," Al frowned._

Ed remember the memory like it had only been yesterday when in fact it had been decades ago. There were many similarities between the two worlds that made them almost seem alike at most times. Ed could nearly forget that he was not in Amestris once in a while. Nearly.

There were two things that this world did not have. One was of course alchemy, the thing that Ed missed studying and creating. The second was Winry.

Ed pushed the letter aside not wanting to think any more about how the world's were similar. And what and who didn't occupy this lonely world. He reached for the next letter before he realized it. It brought pain to the old man every time he read a word written by his friends, but he just couldn't help himself. He had to read them. He was clutching the letters like a fish would to water.


	3. Riza's letter

**I'm trying to make each chapter be a little longer with flashbacks of Ed's. I'm not sure how its working out haha. Please review and tell me what I can do better! Thanks!**

The next letter was written on smooth creamy white paper. The paper had gotten fragile after years of it being folded up in this box and before that in Ed's suitcase hidden in the closet. The words were written in a beautiful curved writing, yet it held a bit of edginess in it. This had been his first letter from one of the military personal, and what had surprised him that most was from who it was.

Riza Hawkeye. The strong calm collected woman of the military that forced Mustang to do all of his work. Her writing a letter surprised him more than anything else. He never would have thought that she, a sniper in the Ishbal War, would show womanly emotions and be concerned about him and Al! But she had.

_Dear Edward,_

_I'm quite sure that you are surprised at receiving a letter from me. I myself have no idea why I am writing you. All I know is that some unknown force is compelling me to do so. Since I am not able to ignore this force I am writing this letter to you and your brother Al._

_Its been some time since the both of you have visited the military base. I was starting to get worried about you safety, not to mention your health. The both of you are still children, you should concern yourselves with taking of each other. Make your main goal to grow up. Looking for that stone, its going to make you sick. Spending all of your time looking for it will cause more pain than the happiness gained._

_I understand why you are forcing all your time to find it. You want to right the wrong that you did to your brother. But wasting all of you time to find it isn't helping yourself Edward. I know you would argue me if I told you this in person, so that's why I've decided to add this in the letter. You are still a child, you should act like one once in a while. You act to mature for your age Edward, that's not good. You're childhood should be filled with laughter and friendship, not fighting and alchemy._

_I bet you don't understand why I am telling you all of this, but in time you will. You're brother Al, is the most important person in your life. You would do anything for him. I understand that, I have a person I would do anything for too. I just don't want your childhood to be ruined, like mine was. So please Edward take some time off for yourself._

_Please visit soon. By the way I am sending some paperwork to you. Please fill it out and send it back completed before the week is finished._

_Thank you,_

_Riza Hawkeye_

When Ed had finished the letter the first time to as he was shocked would be exactly on the dot. He had never known that Hawkeye had always been so concern about him. Her being worried about him not having a childhood had made him angry. Of course he had his own childhood, though it was different than anyone else's. Then again the Elrics have never been normal. When he had gotten this letter he had exploded up at Al about everything she had wrote, calling her a nosy military follower.

_"I can believe it Al!" Ed growled as he stomped along the street with Al in his big suit of armor following right behind him. "Telling me to be a child! I'm a teenager! Dragging my height in to this, how dare that nosy collective woman!"_

_"Brother she didn't mention your height," Al voiced in only to be shot deadly glares from Ed._

_"Shut up Al," Ed hissed evilly at his brother._

_"Brother Miss Riza is just worried about your health and mind," Al reminded him, staying far away from the word 'body' in case Ed decided to yell out that he wasn't short._

_"So? My health is fine. What matters more is getting back your body," Ed huffed. "She doesn't understand, no one understands. I did this to you Al. I'm the reason that you are unable to feel, sleep, or eat. And I wont feel right until we get your body back. Which means we have to find that damn stone."_

_"It wasn't your fault brother," Al told him truthfully. "We both decided to try to bring mom back. So the fault is also mine."_

_"I forced you to do it," Ed muttered lowly. "So its my fault."_

_"No brother-" Al started to argue._

_"Its my fault damn it! Don't argue with me," Ed growled stomping forward to go towards a market stall. "Lets get some food, I'm starving."_

_Al watched as his brother marched over to the food stall talking to the man behind it. "Brother its not your fault. Its both of our faults." Al stifled a laugh. "You always hated people showing their concern for you brother. You try to act like it doesn't matter when really it touches your heart that they are worried about you. Stupid brother."_

_"What did you say?" Ed demanded turning angrily toward Al._

_Al laughed. "Nothing brother!"_

Ed laughed lightly. That was too true for him. He hated when people were worried for him, yet it somehow always managed to touch his heart. Reading the letter again made him remember how much of a mother Hawkeye acted to them. She worried about them, comforted them, and made them understand the strange parts of the adult world they lived in.

Ed now an old man understood what Hawkeye had been talking about in her letter. He had seen his children grow up in comfort, living freely as children. Not constrained like he had been when he was younger. He wished that he had left some more free time for him when he had been searching for the Philosopher stone. Just an hour or so, just so he could act like a teenager once in a while.

Al was more important though. Even if now wished for some time for himself he knew that when he was younger he would still have used that time to research. It was just in his blood. He had been so determined in his youth that nothing could stop him from finding out the truth. When the truth had been revealed, oh how his hopes come crashing down!

Everything seemed to work it owns way out though. Al got his body back, that's what Ed wanted. Even if he was sent to another world, knowing that his brother's body had been returned had made Ed happy. Now he was in this same world with his brother, but without all of his friends. Being with Al was worth it though. He missed all his old friends, but they weren't blood like Al was. Blood is always thicker than water, or fake blood. Like Winry and Pinako. Al was and will always be the most important person in his life, no matter who else he loved.

Ed let out a huge breath of air as he gently folded up the letter and placed it beneath the earlier two. He missed the cool Hawkeye that no matter what kind of situation she was in she always remained calm. Unless something had to do with Mustang, then she showed her true feelings. Ed smirked as he reached out and grabbed the next letter.


	4. Al's letter

**Sorry it took me so long to update it haha. I've been stressed with school since we only have about a week and a half before school finally gets out! Thank god we get out before the elementary and middle school, that just makes me happy. This letter I decided to write once they had been in Germany for a while…of course Al is the one to write him! Everyone has to love dear sweet Al!**

Ed frowned at the letter in front of him. The paper was thin and the writing was slightly slanted with hurriedly written words on the page. It seemed to Ed that the person had decided to write the letter before they had changed their mind, and that's why it was some what sloppy. He slowly opened it up and the first thing that came to mind was, _Why was this letter by all this earlier letters that he had gotten?_

_Dear Brother,_

_It has been some time since we have last seen each other. You spend all your time locked in that library searching for a way to close the Gate. That's why I've decided to go on my own in search of some more information to help us. But not in the way that you are thinking brother._

_I believe, Brother, that it would be best if we returned to Amestris. We can research a way to close the gates while we pass through them to be reunited with everyone that we care about. Even though we promised to cross over and close the gates here to Mustang, wouldn't it be better if we were to return? Don't deny that you don't want to. I know you stay up late, locked in the library trying to run away from the memories of all the people who are dear to us. Especially Winry._

_I know you miss her brother. She is the only one who you physically cry over. You love her. You always have. You shouldn't have left her, especially since you two were in a relationship before…well before everything happened. I've heard you curse her before, whisper her name in your sleep, and wish that she was there to maintain your automail. So wouldn't it be better if we returned?_

_I want to see Winry again. And Granny Pinako. Den. Mustang. Hawkeye. The real Gracia. Elysia. Everyone in the military. Those people are our family. No one should ever be separated from their family. It's the same with what happened to us._

_Didn't you want to cross over the gate to find me? Just like how I wanted to cross the gate to find you. It's the same feeling the we had then. They are family. They may act all different and odd, even strange at times, but they have always been there when we needed them. That's why we should go back. To be reunited with our family._

_Don't even try to deny to me that your heart doesn't feel empty without them. My heart feels like it wants to explode every time I think about one of our old friends. I believed that we would be able to carry on over here, because we had each other. Now I realize though that we had a bigger family then we realized. It wasn't just the two of us anymore. We had Winry, Granny, the military, and all the people we had met on our travels. Those people are family to us. We should be with them, not over here dying each day that we arent near them._

_I am concerned about your health Ed. Germany isn't the place for you, Amestris is. You do the same things as you did there, but here…you don't act like yourself. You act as though part of your soul has been taken away. That part I can only assume is the absence of Winry. Brother, no one here will never meet your expectations like she did. You're in love with her, just admit it, put down whatever book you are currently reading and come with me to the gate. Mustang probably wouldn't have destroyed it, yet. He like everyone else believes that we will come back home._

_Are we going to disappoint them again, brother?_

_Alphonse Elric_

_Please brother don't get angry at me._

This letter had been written a couple of months after that had crossed the gate. At that time he had been trying with all his strength to close the gate. To end the thing that haunted his dreams, taunting him that he would never be able to go home ever again. He had studied in a blind fury desperately searching a way to close the gate. He had completely ignored Al after a while only staying in the dimly lit library, looking for some kind of answer.

He had missed all of his old friends more than any words can describe. But he had been used to not seeing them for years. When he returned though, it was a whole other story. That's when it came crashing into him about how much everyone really meant to him. He was fighting to be reunited with Al, but also without noticing it he was fighting to be joined with his friends also. But then he left.

That had been his choice to make so Ed couldn't have turned back then. There was no way he could return home and face _her_ after leaving her so many times before. He feared that she wouldn't forgive him. He knew that she had probably already lost all faith in him after he left her the second time. When he thought about her not thinking about him anymore, he heart ached uncontrollably. His love not caring about him anymore, made life not worth living.

When Al had suggested going back to Amestris, Ed had thought about agreeing but decided against it. It was too late for him to fix everything that he had broke when he left. There was no point in returning anymore. Especially when he knew that Winry had probably found someone else to love besides him. So in this world they stayed much to Al's distaste. But Al wouldn't leave if Ed didn't, even though Ed told him that he could.

Now sitting there as an old man Ed wondered to himself what it would have been like it they had returned home. He wondered how everyone had changed since many years ago. Had Mustang and Hawkeye finally gotten married? How was Gracia Hughes and Elysia? Was Mustang Fuhrer? What had happened to all the military personal? Did Havoc finally had a steady girlfriend who didn't leave him for Mustang? And the question that haunted him the most…Had Winry gotten married?

Ed had gotten married to a girl who understood that his heart wouldn't never truly belong to her, and she was okay with that. So he wouldn't have been surprised if Winry had gotten married to some guy who didn't deserve her. Not that he had ever deserved her either. He didn't want her to be married, but he didn't want her to be alone either. His feelings were always changing constantly about her.

Ed chuckled to himself. "There's nothing I can do to change the past so I shouldn't worry about what happened in Amestris."

Even if he said that to himself he still thought about all the people there more than he did about the people here. Ed shook his head wanting to get rid of this lingering thoughts about if he had returned to Amestris and what his life would be like than. That wasn't his life, so he shouldn't worry about it anymore. Reading the letters wasn't helping him, but for some reason he couldn't stop himself from grabbing the next letter, hoping to get the thought of Winry happily married to some random guy out of his head.


End file.
